Types of Comparative Studies in Cross-Cultural Psychology

From a methodological perspective cross-cultural studies in psychology differ in three dimensions. First, cross-cultural psychological studies can be exploratory or test specific hypotheses. Second, some cross-cultural studies compare countries or ethnic groups while other cross-cultural studies relate specific characteristics of a country or ethnicity (e.g., socialization patterns or religiosity) to psychological variables. Third, studies can compare either constructs (e.g., do Chinese and Kenyans mean the same when they say that a person is intelligent?) or score levels (e.g., are Americans more extravert than Italians?). A classification of cross-cultural psychological studies, based on the three dimensions, is presented and examples are given

Doctrina perpetua: brokering change, promoting innovation and transforming marginalisation in university learning and teaching [Editors introduction]

Doctrina perpetua—translated variously as “forever learning” (Cryle, 1992, p. 27), “lifelong learning” and “lifelong education”—is the Latin motto of Central Queensland University (CQU), an Australian regional university with campuses in Central Queensland and the metropolitan and provincial cities of Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney and with centres in China, Fiji, Hong Kong and Singapore. During its early development the institution was small and regional; in many ways it was an institution at the margins of higher education. For only a third of its 40-year life has it been recognised as a university. However, the vision of both its founders and its continuing staff has been that of an institution that actively brokers change, promotes innovation and seeks to transform marginalisation— for students, for its community and for itself. Its short life on the edge of the universe of higher education has promoted a culture of innovation and an acceptance that change is a necessary and positive aspect of life on the edge. Embracing change, CQU has become a complex institution, a notion well expressed in a speech in August 1999 by former Vice-Chancellor Lauchlan Chipman on Visioning Our Future: I have often remarked that I do not see CQU as “the last university of the old millennium” but rather as “the first university of the new millennium”. One of our greatest strengths in making the transition is our relative immaturity as a university. The more mature a university, especially if it is successful, the less agile it is when it comes to the need to change. So far as the future of universities and change is concerned, my position is unequivocally Heraclitean: change is the only thing that is permanent. Applying to itself the motto “doctrina perpetua” over its short life, the agile University has become a “complex and diverse organisation” (Danaher, Harreveld, Luck & Nouwens, 2004, p. 13). This overview of CQU seeks to provide readers with a short description of the current state of the institution and the story of its development to provide a context for understanding the chapters that follow, and to assist readers to reflect on how these developments at CQU relate to higher education generally, and to the universities with which they are more familiar

National and European Identities of Bulgarian and Dutch Students

The present study explored the adoption of national and European identities and the perceptions of own nation and Europe in Bulgarian and Dutch students. A questionnaire developed by Georgas et al. (2004) was administered to 256 students in Bulgaria and 190 students in the Netherlands. The majority of participants in both countries (88% in Bulgaria and 85% in the Netherlands) endorsed both national and European identity; European identity was secondary to national identity. There were marked cross-national differences in the way own country and Europe were perceived. Bulgarian students perceived larger differences between the two identities than did Dutch students. Results are in accordance with theories regarding national and supranational identities as compatible and suggest a stronger role of instrumental elements for European identification in Bulgarian students as compared to Dutch students

Identity and acculturation : the case for Africa

Abstract: Despite the multicultural nature of African societies, there is still very little knowledge about acculturation and its association with identity on this continent Acculturation processes and outcomes are strongly associated with identity The objective of this article is to relate different models of acculturation (unidimensional, bi-dimensional, multidimensional) with the tri-dimensional model of identity (personal, relational, and social) Social identity components, such as ethnicity, religion, and culture, suggest a need for modification of Western models of acculturation to embrace the multifaceted realities of non-Western multicultural societies The social complexity and the continuous transition within African societies provides unique opportunities to examine and further develop the multidimensional acculturation models to take into account the social complexity which informs identity issues both within and across different African nations

Feminine and religious leadership. a long term company model

We analyse a case of successful family business with an ethical and religious management and orientation. Both the founder and her successor are women, so the model of entrepreneurship is very unique, also because the organization is in an emergent economy. Through the Case Study using documentary analysis and quantitative methodology, we have reached empirical keys to understand how a small Peruvian Company can survive over 70 years as leader in a specific market. All this is based on the feminine leadership and the construction of a solid culture created by its founder. We found that it is a company whose growth and sustainability over time is due to the close presence of its founder. A specific leadership followed by her successor who has strong religious values and is managing to add creativity and innovation. The founder has been a leader close to her workers, who has been able to lead by example, always with humility, austerity and showing concern for her collaborators. "Ora et labora" is the motto of the company and highlight its main goals as quality, service and high commitment with the society in which is embedded. Analizamos un caso de empresa familiar de éxito con una gestión y orientación ética y religiosa. Tanto la fundadora como su sucesora son mujeres, por lo que el modelo de empresa es muy singular, también porque la organización se encuentra en una economía emergente. A través del Estudio de Caso utilizando análisis documental y metodología cuantitativa, hemos llegado a claves empíricas para entender cómo una pequeña empresa peruana puede sobrevivir más de 70 años como líder en un mercado específico. Todo esto se basa en el liderazgo femenino y en la construcción de una sólida cultura creada por su fundador. Encontramos que es una empresa cuyo crecimiento y sostenibilidad en el tiempo se debe a la estrecha presencia de su fundador. Un liderazgo específico seguido por su sucesora que tiene fuertes valores religiosos y que consigue añadir creatividad e innovación. La fundadora ha sido una líder cercana a sus trabajadores, que ha sabido dar ejemplo, siempre con humildad, austeridad y preocupación por sus colaboradores. "Ora et labora" es el lema de la empresa y destaca sus principales objetivos como la calidad, el servicio y el alto compromiso con la sociedad en la que está inserta

Values and Migration Motives in Three Ethnic Groups in Indonesia

Indonesia has 1340 ethnic groups. This study focused on three large ethnic groups, which are Bataknese, Minangnese and Sundanese. There were 712 participants in this study, aged 20-23 years. There is a different orientation on migration (within Indonesia) in those three ethnic groups. Bataknese mainly migrate for study. Minangnese mainly migrate for work and trading. Sundanese do not have a strong orientation toward migration, although members migrate for study or work. The aim of this study is to understand the value system of these three ethnic groups as measured by Schwartz’s PVQ-40 in correlation to migration attitudes. Migration attitudes were measured by items such as the importance of migration, the importance of having the tenacity and perseverance, the importance of making an effort, strive and work hard, the importance of having the ability to adjust with the new situation and dealing with problems in new place. There was no significant difference in value system of the three ethnic groups. Means on social life values were higher than means on fulfilling personal needs values in the three ethnic groups. Factors on migration motive have stronger and significant correlation with factors on value system in Bataknese than in Minangnese and Sundanese. We concluded that Bataknese’s motive to migrate was more associated with social life values and fulfilling personal needs values, Minangnese’s motive to migrate with fulfilling personal needs values, and Sundanese’s motive to migrate with social life values

Reward-allocation judgments in Romania: a factorial survey approach

We investigated reward-allocation judgments when positive outcomes (monetary rewards) were distributed and the allocator was not a co-recipient, in a sample of 200 Romanian students. Within a full factorial survey design, seven factors, selected to affect the allocation decision, were orthogonally varied. The factors reflect individual characteristics of the recipients (gender, age, contribution, need, work experience) and situational characteristics (future work interaction and task routineness). Romanian students preferred to allocate rewards applying an equity-based distribution model. Work experience and task routineness were also significant, yet less important. The recipient gender has no effect on allocation judgments. In terms of between-respondents variability, we found that students' gender, work experience, and age do not have an impact on reward-allocation judgments. We discuss implications of our findings for organizations and practitioners

Self- and Other-Oriented Motivations Associated with Emotional Suppression of Internalized and Externalized Negative Emotions: A Multiethnic Self-Report Study in the Netherlands

We were interested in the motivations associated with emotional suppression, their relationship with negative emotions in self-reported emotional events, and their cross-cultural similarities and differences. Based on a framework of human values (Schwartz, 1994) and internalization-externalization (Krueger & Markon, 2006), we expected in the current study that self-reported motivations to suppress negative emotions are either self- or other-oriented. The sample consisted of 354 Dutch majority members, 319 immigrants from non-Western, and 368 from Western countries. The two-dimensional solution of self- and other-oriented motivations was confirmed. Non-Western immigrants scored higher on other-oriented motivation than Western immigrants, but no interethnic differences were found in self-oriented motivation. Non-Western immigrants scored higher on anxiety, compassion, guilt, and hate compared to Dutch group. Associations of negative emotions with self- and other- oriented motivation were the same in all groups. Sadness was positively related to self-oriented motivation, whereas anger was positively related to other-oriented motivation. We concluded that emotional suppression depends not only on self- or other-orientation but also on the type of emotions (internalized versus externalized) and the relationships are not influenced by ethnicity